PDPR Padlet 2025-2026 by Zoe Van Osten

PDPR 8/25: what my partner and I spoke about.

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-25 21:04:06 UTC

With Megan, we talked about moving from competitive dance styles to more performing shows. Megan and I had different answers in topic 2; she is more of an education side of dance and less performing, whereas in shows, I love performing in pieces. The balance between life events and dance was something we could relate to; trying to manage all the things in life and still putting in the effort 100% with intention was key.

Vanessa's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-26 21:38:17 UTC

What was exciting?
The creation of our own movements and the grab-and-go style of audition was exciting to work around, even when it became difficult to brainstorm.
What was challenging for you?
I have a bad memory just watching something on video beucase it lacks demention to pick up on, so that first part of the audition was very challenging for me. I found myself second-guessing what actually happened in the video.
How would this process help me grow?
This is a new style of collaboration, and I've only ever had one choreographer who was very collaborative on the spot. I think that it is a very informative artistic environment, which I could use in the future when choreographing.

Sinclair's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-26 22:29:41 UTC

What was exciting?
The atmosphere of the room was really encouraging and made the audition feel like I was very productive in learning the material. Another exciting thing was the experimentation with the props, and being able to hear the group in a synchronized movement made it feel so powerful to watch and dance together.
What was challenging?
The dance style is not one I'm 100% solid with (like little technique and placement), so that was a little challenging at the start of the audition. Plates were also scary initially, and the thought that if my placement was off, a plate would come crashing down was challenging.
How can this process help me grow?
Stepping outside of my comfort zone because I've only ever taken Sinclair's class twice, and I feel like there is a lot I can learn from him. Also, trying to dance with props is something I didn't do very often prior to college, and could be a skill I could grow if I were in this piece.

Makaila's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-27 16:23:14 UTC

What was exciting?
What I found exciting during this audition was the idea of connecting with the people in front of and around you. It made dancing so much more meaningful by connecting with someone. I also really enjoyed "fracturing" the phrase in something that was the same but noticeably different; it was a cool, creative concept to try out and work around.
What was challenging for you?
When performing in groups, our "fractured" phrases, I found it challenging to slow down while others around me were moving fast, and still see the ability to connect with them. I think it's a challenge that can be overcome with time, working around people doing different tempos and speeds.
How would this process help me grow?
This process could help me grow by allowing me to be in a piece that establishes a clear connection with a group of people on stage. Keeping solid eye contact and emotion with people around me is not something I've done in a piece in a long time. Being in this piece could encourage me to show more emotion in my dancing and feel extremely comfortable connecting right away with those around me, two things that I would need to get better at to be a more successful dancer.

EG's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-27 16:24:48 UTC

What was exciting?
I really enjoyed changing the textures and feeling the difference between rage exhaustion and almost burnt-out exhaustion. I didn't know how each felt in my body until we did the group exercise.
What was challenging for you?
The speed at which things were being done was sometimes complicated for my brain to handle. I felt like I was missing a lot of key details during the audition phrase.
How would this process help me grow?
I think this process could help me grow because it taps into deeper purpose behind movement, which I would like to explore and apply to my everyday classes.

Annie Laura's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-27 16:26:11 UTC

What was exciting?
I like counting the music; it felt goodin my body to do the movements we were given. It was also very evocative of emotion.
What was challenging for you?

The falling and floor work was challenging because my body was tired, and getting up from the floor repeatedly was really hard.

How would this process help me grow?

I think this process would help me grow because it is a new style I'm not used to, so it is very physical, which could challenge my body.

Nadia's Audition

vanostenzoe — 2025-08-27 16:27:03 UTC

What was exciting?
I LOVE JAZZ MUSIC, I'm a very musicallity kinda person. I love hitting beats is the song and that was really exciting for me.
What was challenging for you?
The challenge for me was that the dance had a lot of slow movements than quick movements to put together, and adding textures was hard because the next movement was fast.
How would this process help me grow?
This process could help me grow by forcing me deeper into my musical listening ears and work on more complex textures.

Question 1: What has been a delight for you in this process?

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 01:41:28 UTC

So far what has been a delight so far in this process has been getting to know the other dancers in the piece and working with learning phrases together even though some people I had just met for the first time in rehearsal. In Maklia’s rehearsals specifically, the group almost connected in a way to where it feels like nobody's voice is going unheard, which is just amazing to accomplish in such a short time span.

Question 2: How have your expectations for this process been affirmed or challenged?

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 01:43:00 UTC

When I went into this process, I really had no clue what the choreography aspect of it was going to be, whether or not we were going to be learning phrases and then combining them, or if it was just going to be choreographed ahead of time and then thrown at us. I liked that I didn't know the plan in the beginning because it made me more invested in all the material being thrown at me. I expected that we would get choreography and bits and pieces, but I love that we're challenged to experiment and rework parts of the choreography to form something new.

Question 3: What connections are you making between this experience and other life experiences you are having?

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 01:46:26 UTC

In our rehearsal we have a ritual that we made up on the very first day of rehearsal where we tap in and tap out of the work we do in class. Since Makila's piece is very immersive and emotional, the tapping out aspect allows us to bring ourselves back into our bodies before continuing with our day. I've connected this ritual to much of what I do in my daily life. Whenever I encounter a hard assignment or have a busy schedule coming up, I tend to go into dance classes tapped out of my responsibilities, which allows me to get more done. I feel like I tap out for even the simplest of tasks like getting groceries or doing the laundry because they are things that I need to do, but have to break free from the stress of school work to get done.

Question 4: What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 01:47:46 UTC

What I've learned from the choreographer / creative leaders in the project I'm working on is to journal even when it feels unnecessary. I never realized how much you can get your thoughts out on paper and more than just in your head. When we would journal in the beginning of our rehearsal I found that having the ability to reference my ideas into discussions with others is important for developing a productive conversation. Another thing I realized is that when you journal you don't always need to share what you wrote down because sometimes just writing it is enough for you to fully reflect.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 02:35:59 UTC

Here's a Video of Olivia and me dancing together in a duet phrase! I had just met Olivia at the beginning of rehearsals, and I feel like, in terms of discovering how to dance with someone new, these past few practices went really well. The ability to connect with all the dancers in the room seems to go so smoothly in Makila's rehearsal because we are all so willing to try things out.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 02:47:03 UTC

I think that this poem represents what has been a very good theme this whole pdpr process showing that you have to rely on others as much as others rely on you. This can be in choreography, memory, or even general questions you ask your peers.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 02:51:36 UTC

I feel like this picture for glue represents the feeling of having to be in the same room and try and see where you can do yourself to fit into the dynamic of a new process. The idea of being stuck together like glue to piece something together.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 02:57:29 UTC

I picked this meme to represent my positive surprise at how the choreography process of pdpr was going to go for the rest of the semester since I had no clue.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:05:16 UTC

Alice in Wonderland was my favorite movie and book growing up, so this quote fits perfectly with how I think the fluidity in rehearsal has altered the piece, making it well-rounded and innovative than I ever could have imagined before.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:08:56 UTC

This is my song that I imagine is how in the zone I was, learning each phrase, puzzling where they might end up.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:13:22 UTC

This is how the Group Tap Out ritual feels like after dancing the piece for 2 hours.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:17:02 UTC

During my daily life i use the tap out ritual from PDPR to take a second and clear my head from hard tasks.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:20:05 UTC

The Spa Music is what I use once in awhile to tap out of my daily tasks and escape my thoughts so I can come back stronger.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:22:36 UTC

I feel like I get more thoughts out on paper and this gif shows that since that is the case im much more productive in thinking.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:25:05 UTC

This song is about looking back on things you wrote yourself and highlights the importance or using the journaling we do in PDPR in my future to re-experince the growth i've had.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-10-04 03:28:53 UTC

Once I've got all my ideas on paper and can talk about them, I feel like I understand and can conceptilize other peoples reponses to the same question much better than before. The GIF resembles my ablity to chat better after writing things down. :)

Question 1: What has been challenging for you in this process?

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 22:48:25 UTC

What has been challenging for me in this process is understanding the rituals of what to do next, or like the “rules”. Especially since this is my first official performance with the department, knowing where to go and what to do has been a challenge. Things like finding the sign-out/sign-in sheet, finding costumes, and even bringing my water with me into the brocket for tech and not leaving it in the dressing room are all things beyond just dancing that I have to adjust for in my learning.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 22:53:18 UTC

I have tried to keep a calm and positive demenor amist all of the choas of DRT. At times I do turly feel like this dog in a room full of fire. But in a good way making me more productive.

Question 2: What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:06:42 UTC

What I've learned from the choreographer of the piece I'm in, “Ohr,” is that intention is everything; you don’t need to be thinking about the same thing to have a connection with the people around you. We would always respond to Mikayla's questions at the beginning of our rehearsals and write about an event or emotion in our lives, and even though we all had different experiences, the intention in the dance remained the same about seeing the “light” in the darkness. Because I learned that intention is initiated differently for everyone, I've become much more aware of what I'm thinking about while I dance.

Question 3: How have you grown?

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:33:06 UTC

Through this experience, I've grown to see the bigger picture and remain present, even when confused. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, I understood that there was a storyline and concept, but it wasn't until nearing the end of our studio rehearsal that I was able to really connect with the piece emotionally. The piece looks completely different from the first phrases at the beginning of the semester, and time has flown by so quickly that I didn’t realize how much we actually achieved. I feel that so far during this process, I have really been able to grow my ability to “mind the gap” and stay present as things moved quickly around me, which later allowed me to re-access the situation in the future when things slowed down and connect with the piece with a better understanding.

Question 4: What have you contributed to the piece and to the realization of a creative community of caring, kickass artists?

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:35:09 UTC

I believe that what I've contributed to the piece and the community is the willingness to try something new and share my experiences. I've never usually been one to share my opinions out loud in a group, but during rehearsal times, we were asked many times how things felt as we moved forward, and I was surprisingly willing to respond and reply. I feel like that also encouraged others to do the same, which helped us reach a great space as a cast where we could be honest with each other.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:39:23 UTC

For me this song resembles that feeling of being lost and confused but still trying to find a way to make it work :)

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:44:04 UTC

This GIF is a perfect representation of how lost I was at moments about what to do next.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:51:49 UTC

This represents how in rehearsals, during chats, our cast would find connections to each other by finding ways we could relate to each other's experiences with the concepts of “light” and “dark”.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-07 23:55:42 UTC

The Gif is representing how I gained an understanding of my thinking while I dance to set an intention .

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:00:31 UTC

We would think about the dance concepts “light and dark” , we would look back at our own experiences and I would constantly think of this song, since it mentions light and memories.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:05:36 UTC

As a cast, we are so honest with each other at times; it was funny to laugh about things we had forgotten randomly and relate to one another as humans.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:10:05 UTC

This represents the dots connecting in my head because I allowed myself to push through and be present in the confusion by looking at the bigger picture.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:15:54 UTC

It was a great check in to see how we were all doing as a cast to be willing to share our thoughts and emotions throughout the DRT process. Which, I feel like this picute represents.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:18:15 UTC

During those times of vulnerability because we all brought the willingness to share into our rehearsal space many moments were heart warming and felt like this song.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 00:22:06 UTC

I picked this song because for me it represents how the fast moving pace of the process has also helped me grow my present awareness during rehearsals.

Q3 support

vanostenzoe — 2025-11-08 05:10:03 UTC

This is my represention of trying to find the slow processing moments in the fast moving DRT timeline.

Question 1: How have you grown?

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-01 21:30:18 UTC

This semester I feel like I've grown much more as a performer. In all of my dancing experience in the past, I've never had to do a dance routine so many times in a row so it was wonderful to have this experience teaching my body and mind to do a more concert style show week. I really had to grow mentally as I would perform each night and it would get sometimes stale before we went on stage and I would have to remind myself about what I was performing. Overall, I think I really grew in terms of being able to perform the same thing over and over again but with the same intention and energy.

Question 2: What have you learned from someone else in your cast and/or the choreographer/creative leaders of your project?

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-01 21:30:27 UTC

What I have learned from someone else in my cast and really everyone else in the show was to really trust the process and be patient. In a very fast moving and constantly changing space like backstage it was really calming to see my castmates support me to go with the flow. I feel like in that very calm environment I was able to feel comfortable and adjust to a show schedule.

Question 3: What has been a delight for you in this process?

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-01 21:30:39 UTC

The final delight in this process has really been the amazing cast and choreographer I was surrounded by this semester. I never thought I would be so emotional nearing the end of the dance when we had only rehearsed and performed it in such a short time, but it was really hard letting something go because we had fostered an amazing connection with each other throughout this PDPR course. By the end of the semester I was insanely delighted for all of the amazing people and experiences I had made; no matter how short of a time we had.

Question 4: What have you taught yourself?

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-01 21:30:46 UTC

At the very end of the show week I taught myself something that I would love to use in the future. Our very last performance was one where we all really paid attention to each other on stage and it felt as though we were really aware of each other even though we were performing. I think throughout this experience I've taught myself then you can still be performing even if you're not paying attention to the audience. I've never really had a piece where I felt that the audience was observers and I think this piece really showed me that sometimes the audience is just observing. Sometimes you're performing to each other and with each other.

Q1 support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 01:49:18 UTC

This is my example of me learning to work with repetition.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 01:57:24 UTC

How I grew by keeping my goals and intentions fresh on my mind in a new style of proforming.

Q1 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:00:58 UTC

When I was able to grow into performing every night without playing it safe.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:04:35 UTC

Seeing upperclassman being so chill and calm while doing there makeup and costume before the show really took the sense of stressful urgency away during show week.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:06:37 UTC

by the end of the week i had succesfully made a personal ritutal and maped out where I needed to be so that I could go with the flow.

Q2 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:08:41 UTC

Me taking a chill pill instead of rushing to get the show over with since I was after intermission.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:12:40 UTC

This lovely song was sung many times backstage and I find it to show the bond we all made throughout show.

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:16:14 UTC

How our castmates got so close we would often qoute rehersal moments to eachother and giggle at our past haha's

Q3 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:18:33 UTC

Cast Pizza Night after the show :)

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:21:52 UTC

Paying attention to what your castmates are doing, to where you froget that people are watching.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:23:50 UTC

I gotten better at feeling other people on stage and it has really taught me important skills to use in future pieces.

Q4 Support

vanostenzoe — 2025-12-02 02:25:58 UTC

The last time we performed on stage it felt very much like this song.